


Babies

by Dragonsquill (dragonsquill)



Series: Hobbit ABCs [2]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Babies, F/M, Fluff, precanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 13:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3898051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonsquill/pseuds/Dragonsquill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bombur wasn't a fan of babies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Babies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FuryNZ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuryNZ/gifts).



Bombur wasn’t a baby person.

His brother Bofur was. From the time they were children, if there was a baby in the vicinity, Bofur would appear as if from the stone itself, arms outstretched and a lullaby on his lips. He cuddled, cooed, and even changed diapers with minimum complaint. Since their family, which like all mining families lived deep in the mountain in large, noisy extended groups, were rather well-known for unusual fertility, there were always babies around for Bofur to pet. Cousin Bofur was a go-to babysitter before he was even properly battle-ready, much less of age.

Everyone agreed that Bofur, son of Kefur, would be an excellent father one day.

Bombur on the other hand…

Bombur found babies….

Loud.

And squirmy.

And…drippy.

And often fairly digusting. 

When others gathered around an infant and oooed and aahhhed over how adorable it was, Bombur was always faintly confused. What was so cute about a squashy pooping machine? 

So of course, as was the strange nature of the world, it was Bombur, not Bofur, fell madly and deeply in love with the most beautiful female in the entire mountain. Her name was Hadda, a distant cousin (as were they all) and excellent surveyor, and they married just days after Bombur’s proper coming of age at 70.

In a bizarre twist of (not unexpected, given the family reputation) fate, his Hadda became pregnant practically the moment they married.

She absolutely _glowed_ with happiness. It usually took years for a dwarf couple to conceive, and here they were, already on their way. 

“I hope we have three,” she exulted, as she was from a large family of three herself, and he a solid one of two. “Three babies to love.”

Bombur broke out in a cold sweat that became his constant companion for the next nine months.

_Babies!_

Noisy, pooping, spitting babies!

And once he had his own, well…passing it off on Bofur when the smell started getting suspicious just wouldn’t be an option anymore.

…Or would it?

“We should ask Bofur to live here,” he told Haddad as he gently massaged the feet she hadn’t seen in two weeks.

Baby would be here very soon indeed.

The look she gave him implied she thought he might be suffering from a head injury. “Why would we do that?”

“He could . . . help with the baby. You know how Bofur is. Sing a babe to sleep in minutes.”

Hadda’s beautiful hazel eyes narrowed suspiciously.

She was as intelligent as she was beautiful. Bombur’s mother had warned him how dangerous a combination that could be.

“Bombur?”

The cold sweat reappeared, pupping up along his hair. “Yes, diamond of my night?”

“You are not going to get out of midnight feeding assistance and regular diaper chances by bringing your brother to live here.”

Bombur’s eyes widened in what he hoped was an innocent way. “I would never-”

“You would.” One lovely, if somewhat swollen, foot rose and poked him hard in the ribs. “But I won’t let you.”

Bombur sighed.

“He can babysit some when I’m fully healed, though.” Her warning scowl softened into a heart-stopping smile. “So we can have some time…alone together.”

Bombur blushed.

Just a little.

\----

Bombur and Hadda’s baby was born right on time, one week later. It was a long and difficult labor, as they tended to be for dwarves. 

His months of nervous twitching over diapers and spittle were nothing compared to the true terror that Hadda would follow through on her threat to tip his beard out by the roots during the next contraction

It was a close call, but his beard survived in the end. 

Then he heard it: a sharp, high-pitched cry of indignant anger. “A girl!” the midwife announced, and even a dwarf who didn’t like babies couldn’t fight a flash of smug pride at having a rare female first try out. There was noise and fuss and wrapping and then-

-a tiny bundle in his arms.

With his heart pounding a shameful rhythm, Bombur looked down into the baby’s face. He expected the usual – big eyes, a bit squashed, possibly actively drippling out of one end or the other – the general package that invoked laughter from Bofur and a sort of bewildered resignation from Bombur.

What he saw instead was the most beautiful being his eyes had ever landed on.

Her eyes were open – a dark blue – and tiny hands curled by her little round cheeks with their downy layer of gold-blonde hair. Bombur had never been able to tell which parent a baby was meant to resemble, but this one, well – this one was clearly a tiny image of her beautiful mother.

Bombur fell immediately and irrevocably in love. A love so deep that it survived not one the first diaper change, but all the ones to follow.

\---

In truth, Bombur never developed his brother’s affection for babies in general. Most babies were still noisy and wet, and he was content to leave them safely in the arms of their loving family (or Bofur).

But his babies. Well. They were beautiful. Every last one.

And it was good he felt that way.

Because they just kept coming.


End file.
